Call Center Management
Posted by Ted Hopton on June 10, 2008
Seth Godin hits the nail on the head, again, in this blog post.
Let’s say the person in charge of your retail operations does the following every single day:
- Puts up a sign indicating which of five doors customers should use.
- Locks that door.
- Randomly unlocks another door.
- When someone figures out which door to use, he runs out and kicks them in the groin, then locks the door.
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on May 29, 2008
How did I miss posting about these great articles by Jay Minnucci? I went to link to them from the post I just wrote about Dr. Jodie Monger’s article on survey malpractice and that’s when I discovered I never wrote about them. They were both published in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI): Getting a Real Measure on Satisfaction (Part I) and Getting a Real Measure on Satisfaction (Part II).
Well, now I am! I loved this two-part series Jay did so much that I asked him to do a presentation on this topic at ICMI’s Dallas Call Center Demo and Conference last week. I think the live session was even better than the articles, because of the audience participation and the dialogue that took place, and just because Jay’s a fun and professional speaker.
These articles make an excellent companion to Jodie Monger’s article that I just wrote about, Are You Guilty of Survey Malpractice? She delves into the details of survey practices and Jay uncovers a whole lot of other factors that you’ve likely never considered.
Surveys alone do not reflect true customer satisfaction levels. Behavioral metrics hold the key to managing dissatisfaction.
I love the way Jay pussy-foots around touchy issues so delicately, as he does here: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service, ICMI, ICMI Conferences, ICMI's CMI | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on May 29, 2008
Dr. Jodie Monger knows surveys, and in this Customer Management Insight (CMI) article, “Are You Guilty of Survey Malpractice?,” she explains what NOT to do on your customer satisfaction surveys.
Measurement programs must meet certain scientific criteria to be statistically valid with an acceptable confidence level and level of precision or tolerated error. Without these considerations, you are guilty of Survey Malpractice. To defend your program with “it has always been this way” or “we were told to do a survey” is not sufficient. Research laws adhered to in academia apply to the business world. A deficient survey yields inaccurate data and results in invalid conclusions no matter who conducts it.
How hard is it to come up with a bunch of questions and create a survey? That’s what most of us think, and if you just want some quick and informal feedback, that’s fine. But your customer satisfaction measurements are another story altogether. Jodie explains seven warning signs of “survey malpractice”:
(See the article for the explanation associated with each.)
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, ICMI, ICMI's CMI | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on May 29, 2008
Here’s more on the topic of First Contact Resolution (aka, First Call Resolution or FCR) in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI): FCR Unraveled: Getting to the Heart of First-Contact Resolution. It’s an important and complex topic, so the more insight the better, and Greg Levin lays out the issues clearly.
Few performance metrics are as critical to contact center success as first-contact resolution (FCR); unfortunately, few performance metrics are also as misunderstood.
As I’ve already written (First Call Resolution: Great Principle, Hard to Apply), FCR is simple to grasp but far from simple to put into place in a meaningful way. As Greg put it: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, ICMI, ICMI's CMI | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on May 26, 2008
Nothing new at all in this NYT article, “Far From Always Being Right, the Customer Is on Hold.” It’s designed for popular consumption and it rehashes points made better elsewhere, with this author’s distinction being a decidedly whiny tone. But it’s the kind of article my mother notices and points out to me, knowing I work with call centers for a living. Thanks, Mom, I found it . . .
The bottom line, as I have said many times before (see, for example, Just Answer the Phone Quicker!) and will say many times again, is that those of us in the call center industry have the power to change the negative perception the public has of us. It’s going to take resolve and determination, and recognition that customer service is important enough to do right that spending money on it is a wise investment.
Posted in Call Center Management, Call Centers, Customer Sat, Customer Service | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on April 29, 2008
Good insights on recruiting for call centers:
Successful recruiting programs prioritize the quality of recruits over the sheer speed or numbers of applicants. Practices such as rebranding your agents’ job and using employee referrals are proven methods for attracting quality applicants.
Posted in Call Center Management | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on April 29, 2008
It’s common sense once you think about it, but applying marketing principles to your company’s image can be an important part of your approach to recruiting.
To bring quality candidates to your door, you have to have them at “hello.” Positive branding — attaching your call center’s name to a reputation for quality benefits for both customers and agents — can increase your desirability in applicants’ eyes.
Posted in Call Center Management, ICMI's CMI | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on April 29, 2008
In this excerpt from their best-selling book, How to Build a Speech Recognition Application, EIG’s Bruce Balentine and David Morgan touch on the unique application design issues surrounding speech-enabled IVR systems.
Posted in Call Center Management, ICMI's CMI | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on April 29, 2008
Making a successful service-to-sales transition requires cultural and process changes — from hiring the right agents to providing effective training and offering motivating rewards.
Posted in Call Center Management, Customer Service, Sales | No Comments »
Posted by Ted Hopton on April 29, 2008
Facing a tightening economy, nearly all business operations — including call centers — are looking for ways to cut costs. Companies that are working new assessment tools into their hiring strategies are seeing a significant dent in the cost associated with agent turnover, as well as improved quality and performance.
Posted in Call Center Management | No Comments »
